Working Together
by ztirfelkci
Summary: This begins right after Jacob kisses Bella in the woods before the fight in Eclipse. Instead of the kiss reinforcing Bella's love for Edward, it makes her question it. She begins to explore her options. For both BxJ and BxE fans.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Oh my goodness, I am so sorry for everyone who added this story, and were wondering where it went. I ended up deleting it, for God knows what reason, but here it is again. I'd love any feedback so I can improve on my writing.**

**So this begins right after Jacob kisses Bella in the woods before the fight in Eclipse.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Edward Cullen, although I think if I saw Rob Pattinson I would faint or have a heart attack. Then he'd have to come give me CPR. **

**Oh, and P.S., I **_**am**_** an Edward fan.**

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I was in love with Jacob. It was a fact. I couldn't deny my overwhelming desire for more of him back in the woods. The heat, the comfort, it was the best experience of my life. The way our bodies melded together perfectly, the way our lips moved together in unison, it was like we were made especially for each other. It wasn't like that with Edward. Although we had a connection, an electrical tension between us, we did not fit together. When we kissed, _his _lips always took over, _his _body controlled how mine moved. It was never us working _together._

I considered all of this as I stumbled through the woods, trying to find my way back. I couldn't imagine finding anything or anyone better than Edward, and I was in shock. I couldn't comprehend it. As I was thinking about this, a new image flashed through my mind. Edward's face. I pictured the tortured look he had in Italy when Jane smiled at him. I couldn't bear to think that I would see that soon, and I was the one that was going to cause it. Because I had made up my mind.

The tears that had welled up in my eyes began spilling over. I tried to keep my sobs silent, but the crushing feeling on my lungs made it difficult. It wasn't like I didn't care for Edward anymore - he was still the one I cared most about in the whole world - Jacob was just the person who I'd rather be with.

And I was going to tell Edward. Soon, before anyone got hurt more.

My crying continued, blurring my eyesight and making it harder for me to find the right way back. As I walked, I stumbled and tripped more than normal, and I developed large scrapes on the palms of my hands. After only a few minutes, through my clouded eyes, a small clearing appeared.

As I approached the campsite, I attempted to regain some control - I didn't want to look too horrid to Edward. I wasn't very successful, but I was able to slow my breathing to a more normal pace.

The tears were still flowing when I saw Edward waiting at the opening of the tent. As I moved closer, I noticed his wary expression. His brows were furrowed slightly, but his lips were relaxed. He looked worried and confused, but still very cautious about something. I wasn't sure if he had heard the story through any of the wolves yet.

I walked to him slowly, trying to control myself. But although I used every strength in my body to calm down, once I was next to Edward, staring into his deep, golden eyes, I lost it.

At once I began bawling, my eyes overflowing with tears and my lungs gasping for oxygen. I leaned forward into Edward's chest and soaked his shirt. He placed his arms firmly around my waste and pulled me tighter to him, allowing me to sob and release everything into his arms. He gently led us into the tent while I continued to weep, sitting us on the ground.

After what seemed like hours, I finally managed to regain some control, stifling some of my tears. I had not even delivered the bad news, and it was already going bad. I looked up from Edward's drenched shirt to his face. It was filled with concern, but I caught a glimmer of curiosity in the corner of his eye.

So he didn't know yet.

Knowing that I needed to explain, I pushed away from him, sitting upright, and took a big breath. But before I could open my mouth to begin, he spoke.

"Bella, love, what happened? Are you alright?"

This was going to be awful. "No," I replied. "I'm not."

"Bella, what happened?"

I took an even bigger breath than before, attempting to steady my voice, and began. "Edward, I'm so sorry you've had to deal with this mess with Jacob. I never wanted to hurt any of you. I know that every time I want Jacob, it hurts you. I hate that I do that. I am a monster. I am the worst person in the world. But, Edward, that's not the worst."

I stopped, taking a break to look up at his face. His jawline, the strong, defined jawline I had traced so many times with my hands. His nose, the perfectly angled, gentle nose that had rubbed across my face. His brows were slightly wrinkled in concern, concern for me, and I desperately wanted to reach out and smooth them with my fingers, but I knew it would just make everything worse. His lips, each one in the correct proportion, the ones that used to dazzle me until I couldn't breathe. I saved the best - or worst - for last.

I was about to lift up my eyes to meet his when I heard a rustling of leaves outside the tent. I heard a faint rumbling, a sign that Seth had just come back to the campsite and laid down.

I returned to where I left off, looking directly into Edward's golden eyes, when I noticed his entire expression had changed. I ignored that and went back to his eyes, where I now noticed pain. I looked deeply and saw a fire, hidden in the back, that was roaring to life. Something was killing him inside, and I could guess what it was.

Seth had just come back, and the boy could see Jacob playing back everything that had happened in the woods. That meant Edward could see it too. As crystal clear as Jacob had seen it in the woods. And it was killing Edward.

I didn't know if I would be able to finish.

"That's not the worst, either," I murmured quietly, acknowledging that I knew what he was discovering in Seth.

"I can handle it, Bella." He spoke even softer. But it didn't reassure me. He didn't look like he could contain himself much longer.

I felt like I was going to explode. I broke out in tears again, and I tried to speak in between sobs.

"The worst part...is...that even though...you are...the most..." I was struggling trying to get the words out. "Important...person to me..."

He cut me off, placing one finger on my lips. "It's alright. Calm down."

"I can't...Edward...just let me try to speak..." It was getting more difficult by the second. "Even though...you are the most...important...Jacob...is the one...who I want...in that way..." There, it was out. But I erupted into a brand new waterfall of tears.

"We're...a team..." I continued. "We work together...and with you...you're always...the better one...and you always have the control...and I like contributing..."

I did not look up to see his expression. I continued to sob into my hands.

"It's okay, I understand." Edward used his gentle, sincere tone.

Why was _he _comforting _me_? This thought almost angered me. I was hurting _him_! I should be comforting _him_! He _was _to good for me.

"I'm so...sorry, Edward," I let out as I stifled a sob.

He squeezed my hand. "I love you Bella. If this is what you truly desire, then you get it. I'm not holding you back. And if anything ever happens and you change your mind, I'll always be here. Because I love you, I always have, and I always will."

He kissed the top of my forehead, slowly and gently, and I glanced up at his face. It was calm. I wasn't sure if he was really accepting this, or if he was trying to hide his true pain from me. Before I could figure it out, he had gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Okay, so before I get all of your hopes up, I'm not planning on having too many more chapters. This is just going to be a short fanfic, so I'm sorry for that. Sorry this one is so short, but the next one should be up in a day or two!**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned Twilight, and Edward, and Emmett, but sadly enough I don't.**

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The pressure had become unbearable. Once the realization that Edward had gone set in, it became hard to breathe. There was an invisible, 100-pound weight pressing down on my chest. The hole in my heart that had been resealed last spring began to open again. My arms flew to my chest in shock. I was not expecting it to be this bad. It was worse than my last birthday. The birthday that I could never think about. And I caused it myself. I made this pain, and I knew I would have to live with it forever. But I knew that wasn't why it was worse. It was worse because I knew how much pain Edward was in. There wasn't anything in the world that I hated more than seeing Edward in pain, and now it was infinite, and I was crumbling to pieces.

I crawled inside the sleeping bag nearby, and I clutched my arms to my chest, pulling my knees to my chin. It was difficult to breath at all, and I was stuck gasping for air. Tears spilled out, soaking the blanket around me. I created a dark, wet, and cramped environment for myself, and the fact that I was claustrophobic made this feel even better.

I didn't know how much time had passed when I heard a new rustle outside. Suddenly, someone was unzipping my sleeping bag.

"Bella," a soft voice called to me. "Come out, tell me what's wrong."

It was Jacob.

Before I could make up my mind, two warm arms reached into the sleeping bag and began pulling me out. He grabbed my waist and pulled me into his arms. I continued to weep, with no effort of containing myself.

He wrapped his arms around me, and although I knew he was the one I had chosen, I craved a different set of arms.

"Bella, what's wrong," he continued. "Did he hurt you?"

"No," I replied softly, trying to speak. "I hurt him. I chose you."

I looked up and saw his face try to hold back the joy that was now overwhelming him. At least I could make _someone _happy. But Jacob was good, and he quickly covered it up with concern.

"I'm sorry, Bella." He sat still and let me cry.

It seemed like only minutes before he freed me from his arms and stood up.

"I have to go, the fight is going to start soon. I'm so sorry Bella. I'll be back as soon as I can." He was out the door before I could protest.

As soon as he left, a new idea hit me. Edward had gone, but had he gone to the clearing? Was he going to sacrifice himself like Jacob had offered back in the woods? I could not let that happen.

I stumbled onto my feet as quickly as I could and I flew out the door. I turned to my right, spotting Seth.

"Seth, where's Edward?" I cried. "Where did he go?"

Seth got up and turned towards me, and then pointed to the woods to my left with his nose.

"Thanks, I'll be right back!"

I started running, and I was panicking. I needed to reach Edward fast - Jacob said the fight was about to begin. Tears started filling my eyes, clouding my vision. As I ran faster through the woods, I wasn't able to see well and I tripped a lot. It felt like I had been running for a long time, and I wasn't finding him. This was hopeless.

Before I could give it any more thought, I felt something cold and hard grab my wrists and fling me around. In a brief second, my mind filled with relief at the feel of the familiar touch, but then horror at the realization of what - or who - it could be. Victoria had come for me.

I was about to let out a shriek of terror when I was flung on the person's back and we began running through the woods. They spoke before I could.

"What on earth were you thinking!" A familiar, soothing, musical voice began yelling at me. I loved every second of it. "You can't run off on your own just as the newborns are coming! And now!"

"Edward, what -"


	3. Author's Note

**A/N: Okay, so the next part of the story is the battle between Edward, Seth, Riley, and Victoria. You don't need to read this chapter if you know pretty much what happens, but otherwise, below is the battle scene of Eclipse. This is exactly from the book, and THIS CHAPTER IS NOT MY WORK. It is Stephenie Meyer's. **

**Disclaimer: EVERYTHING in this chapter (well, besides the A/N) is from Stephenie Meyer's Eclipse.**

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Suddenly, I found myself with my back pressed against the sheer cliff face. Edward stood in front of me, holding a posture that I knew at once.

Edward held a defensive position - half-crouched, his arms extended slightly - that I recognized with sickening certainty. The rock at my back could have been the ancient brick walls of the Italian alley where he had stood between me and the black-cloaked Volturi warriors.

Something was coming for us.

"Who?" I whispered.

The words came through his teeth in a snarl, that was louder than I expected. Too loud. It meant that it was far too late to hide. We were trapped, and it didn't matter who heard his answer.

"Victoria," he said, spitting the word, making it a curse. "She's not alone. She crossed my scent, following the newborns in to watch - she never meant to fight with them. She made a spur-of-the-moment decision to find me, guessing that you would be wherever I was. She was right. You were right. It was always Victoria."

She was close enough that he could hear her thoughts.

Relief again. If it had been the Volturi, we were both dead. But with Victoria, it didn't have to be both. Edward could survive this. He was a good fighter, as good as Jasper. If she didn't bring too many others, he could fight his way out, back to his family. Edward was faster than anyone. He could make it.

I was so glad he'd sent Seth away. Of course, there was no one Seth could run to for help. Victoria had timed her decision perfectly. But at least Seth was safe; I couldn't see the huge sandy wolf in my head when I thought his name - just the gangly fifteen-year-old boy.

Edward's body shifted - only infinitesimally, but it told me where to look. I stared at the black shadows of the forest.

It was lie having my nightmares walk forward to greet me.

Two vampires edged slowly into the small opening of our camp, eyes intent, missing nothing. They glistened like diamonds in the sun.

I could barely look at the blond boy - yes, he was just a boy, though he was muscular and tall, maybe my age when he was changed. His eyes - a more vivid red than I had ever seen before - could not hold mine. Though he was closest to Edward, the nearest danger, I could not watch him.

Because, a few feet to the side and a few feet back, Victoria was staring at me.

Her orange hair was brighter than I'd remembered, more like a flame. There was no wind here, but the fire around her face seemed to shimmer slightly, as if it were alive.

Her eyes were black with thirst. She did not smile, as she always had in my nightmares - her lips were pressed into a tight line. There was a striking feline quality to the way she held her coiled body, a lioness waiting for an opening to spring. Her restless, wild gaze flickered between Edward and me, but never rested on him for more than a half-second. She could not keep her eyes from my face any more than I could keep mine from hers.

Tension rolled off of her, nearly visible in the air. I could feel the desire, the all-consuming passion that held her in its grip. Almost as if I could hear her thoughts, too, I knew what she was thinking.

She was so close to what she wanted - the focus of her whole existence for more than a year now was just _so close. _

My death.

Her plan was as obvious as it was practical. The big blond boy would attack Edward. As soon as Edward was sufficiently distracted, Victoria would finish me.

It would be quick - she had no time for games here - but it would be thorough. Something that would be impossible to recover from. something that even vampire venom could not repair.

She'd have to stop my heart. Perhaps a hand shoved through my chest, crushing it. Something along those lines.

My heart beat furiously, loudly, as if to make her target more obvious.

An immense distance away, from far across the black forest, a wolf's howl echoed in the still air. With Seth gone, there was no way to interpret the sound.

The blond boy looked at Victoria from the corner of his eye, waiting on her command.

He was young in more ways than one. I guessed from his brilliant crimson irises that he couldn't have been a vampire for very long. He would be strong, but inept. Edward would know how to fight him. Edward would survive.

Victoria jerked her chin toward Edward, wordlessly ordering the boy forward.

"Riley," Edward said in a soft, pleading voice.

The blond boy froze, his red eyes widening.

"She's lying to you, Riley," Edward told him. "Listen to me. She's lying to you just like she lied to the others who are dying now in the clearing. You know that she's lied to them, that she had _you_ lie to them, that neither of you were ever going to help them. Is it so hard to believe that she's lied to you, too?"

Confusion swept across Riley's face.

Edward shifted a few inches to the side, and Riley automatically compensated with an adjustment of his own.

"She doesn't love you, Riley." Edward's soft voice was compelling, almost hypnotic. "She never has. She loved someone named James, and you're no more than a tool to her."

When he said James's name, Victoria's lips pulled back in a teeth-baring grimace. Her eyes stayed locked on me.

Riley cast a frantic glance in her direction.

"Riley?" Edward said.

Riley automatically refocused on Edward.

"She knows that I will kill you, Riley. She _wants _you to die so that she doesn't have to keep up the pretense anymore. Yes - you've seen that, haven't you? You've read the reluctance in her eyes, suspected a false note in her promises. You were right. She's never wanted you. Every kiss, every touch was a lie."

Edward moved again, moved a few inches toward the boy, a few inches away from me.

Victoria's gaze zeroed in on the gap between us. It would take her less than a second to kill me - she only needed the tiniest margin of opportunity.

Slower this time, Riley repositioned himself.

"You don't have to die," Edward promised, his eyes holding the boy's. "There are other ways to live than the way she's shown you. It's not all lies and blood, Riley. You can walk away right now. You don't have to die for her lies."

Edward slid his feet forward and to the side. There was a foot of space between us now. Riley circled too far, over-compensating this time. Victoria leaned forward onto the balls of her feet.

"Last chance, Riley," Edward whispered.

Riley's face was desperate as he looked to Victoria for answers.

"He's the liar, Riley," Victoria said, and my mouth fell open in shock at the sound of her voice. "I told you about their mind tricks. You know I love only you."

Her voice was not the strong, wild, catlike growl I would have put with her face and stance. It was soft, it was high - a babyish, soprano tinkling. The kind of voice that went with blond curls and pink bubble gum. It made no sense coming through her bared, glistening teeth.

Riley's jaw tightened, and he squared his shoulders. His eyes emptied - there was no more confusion, no more suspicion. There was no thought at all. He tensed himself to attack.

Victoria's body seemed to be trembling, she was so tightly wound. Her fingers were ready claws, waiting for Edward to move just one more inch away from me.

The snarl came from none of them.

A mammoth tan shape flew through the center of the opening, throwing Riley to the ground.

"No!" Victoria cried, her baby voice shrill with disbelief.

A yard and a half in front of me, the huge wolf ripped and tore at the blond vampire beneath him. Something white and hard smacked into the rocks by my feet. I cringed away from it.

Victoria did not spare one glance for the boy she'd just pledged her love to. Her eyes were still on me, filled with a disappointment so ferocious that she looked deranged.

"No," she said again, through her teeth, as Edward started to move toward her, blocking her path to me.

Riley was on his feet again, looking misshapen and haggard, but he was able to fling a vicious kick into Seth's shoulder. I heard the bone crunch. Seth backed off and started to circle, limping. Riley had his arms out, ready, though he seemed to be missing part of one hand...

Only a few yards away from that fight, Edward and Victoria were dancing.

Not quite circling, because Edward was not allowing her to position herself closer to me. She sashayed back, moving from side to side, trying to find a hole in his defense. He shadowed her footwork lithely, stalking her with perfect concentration. He began to move just a fraction of a second _before_ she moved, reading her intentions in her thoughts.

Seth lunged at Riley from the side, and something tore with a hideous, grating screech. Another heavy white chunk flew into the forest with a thud. Riley roared in fury, and Seth skipped back - amazingly light on his feet for his size - as Riley took a swipe at him with one mangled hand.

Victoria was weaving through the tree trunks at the far end of the little opening now. She was torn, her feet pulling her toward safety while her eyes yearned toward me as if I were a magnet, reeling her in. I could see the burning desire to kill warring with her survival instinct.

Edward could see that, too.

"Don't go, Victoria," he murmured in that same hypnotic tone as before. "You'll never get another chance like this."

She showed her teeth and hissed at him, but she seemed unable to move farther away from me.

"You can always run later," Edward purred. "Plenty of time for that. It's what you do, isn't it? It's why James kept you around. Useful, if you like to play deadly games. A partner with an uncanny instinct for escaping. He shouldn't have left you - he could have used your skills when we caught up to him in Phoenix."

A snarl ripped form between her lips.

"That's all you ever were to him, though. Silly to waste so much energy avenging someone who had less affection for you than a hunter for his mount. You were never more than a convenience to him. I would know."

Edward's lips pulled up on one side as he tapped his temple.

With a strangled screech, Victoria darted out of the trees again, feinting to the side. Edward responded, and the dance began again.

Just then, Riley's fist caught Seth's flank, and a low yelp coughed out of Seth's throat. Seth backed away, his shoulders twitching as if he were trying to shake off the pain.

_Please, _I wanted to plead with Riley, but I couldn't find the muscles to make my mouth open, to pull the air up from my lungs. _Please, he's just a child!_

Why hadn't Seth run away? Why didn't he run now?

Riley was closing the distance between them again, driving Seth toward the cliff face beside me. Victoria was suddenly interested in her partner's fate. I could see her, from the corner of her eyes, judge the distance between Riley and me. Seth snapped at Riley, forcing him back again, and Victoria hissed.

Seth wasn't limping anymore. His circling took him within inches of Edward; his tail brushed Edward's back, and Victoria's eyes bulged.

"No, he won't turn on me," Edward said, answering the question in Victoria's head. He used her distraction to slide closer. "You provided us with a common enemy. You allied us."

She clenched her teeth, trying to keep her focus on Edward alone.

"Look more closely, Victoria," he murmured, pulling at the threads of her concentration. "Is he really so much like the monster James tracked across Siberia?"

Her eyes popped wide open, and then began flickering wildly from Edward to Seth to me, around and around. "Not the same?" she snarled in her little girl's soprano. "Impossible!"

"Nothing is impossible," Edward murmured, voice velvet soft as he moved another inch closer to her. "Except what you want. You'll never touch her."

She shook her head, fast and jerky, fighting his diversions, and tried to duck around him, but he was in place to block her as soon as she'd thought of the plan. Her face contorted in frustration, and then she shifted lower into her crouch, a lioness again, and stalked deliberately forward.

Victoria was no inexperienced, instinct-drive newborn. She was lethal. Even I could tell the difference between her and Riley, and I knew that Seth wouldn't have lasted so long if he'd been fighting _this _vampire.

Edward shifted, too, as they closed on each other, and it was lion versus lioness.

The dance increased in tempo.

It was like Alice and Jasper in the meadow, a blurred spiraling of movement, only this dance was not as perfectly choreographed. Sharp crunches and crackings reverberated off the cliff face whenever someone slipped in their formation. But they were moving too fast for me to see who was making the mistakes...

Riley was distracted by the violent ballet, his eyes anxious for his partner. Seth struck, crunching off another small piece of the vampire. Riley bellowed and launched a massive backhanded blow that caught Seth full in his broad chest. Seth's huge body soared ten feet and crashed into the rocky wall over my head with a force that seemed to shake the whole peak. I heard the breath whoosh from his lungs, and I ducked out of the way as he rebounded off the stone and collapsed on the ground a few feet in front of me.

A low whimper escaped through Seth's teeth.

Sharp fragments of gray stone showered down on my head, scratching my exposed skin. A jagged spike of rock rolled down my right arm and I caught it reflexively. My survival instincts kicked in; since there was no chance of flight, my body - not actually caring how ineffectual the gesture was - prepared for a fight.

Adrenaline jolted through my veins. I knew the brace was cutting into my palm. I knew the crack in my knuckle was protesting. I knew it, but I could not feel the pain.

Behind Riley, all I could see was the twisting of flame of Victoria's hair and a blur of white. The increasingly frequent metallic snaps and tears, the gasps and shocked hissings, made it clear that the dance was turning deadly for someone.

But _which _someone?

Riley lurched toward me, his red eyes brilliant with fury. He glared at the limp mountain of sand-colored fur between us, and his hands - mangled, broken hands - curled into talons. His mouth opened, widened, his teeth glistening, as he prepared to rip out Seth's throat.

A second kick of adrenaline hit like an electric shock, and everything was suddenly very clear.

Both fights were too close. Seth was about to lose his, and I had no idea if Edward was winning or losing. They needed help. A distraction. Something to give them an edge.

My hand gripped the stone spike so tightly that a support in the brace snapped.

Was I strong enough? Was I brave enough? How hard could I shove the rough stone into my body? Would this buy Seth enough time to get back on his feet? Would he heal fast enough for my sacrifice to do him any good?

I raked the point of the shard up my arm, yanking my thick sweater back to expose the skin, and then pressed the sharp tip to the crease at my elbow. I already had a long scar there from my last birthday. That night, my flowing blood had been enough to catch every vampire's attention, to freeze them all in place for an instant. I prayed it would work that way again. I steeled myself and sucked in one deep breath.

Victoria was distracted by the sound of my gasp Her eyes, holding still for one tiny portion of a second, met mind. Fury and curiosity mingled strangely in her expression.

I wasn't sure how I heard the low sound with all the other noises echoing off the stone wall and hammering inside my head. My own heartbeat should have been enough to drown it out. But, in the split second that I stared into Victoria's eyes, I thought I heard a familiar, exasperated sigh.

In that same short second, the dance broke violently apart. It happened so quickly that it was over before I could follow the sequence of events. I tried to catch up in my head.

Victoria had flown out of the blurred formation and smashed into a tall spruce about halfway up the tree. She dropped back to the earth already crouched to spring.

Simultaneously, Edward - all but invisible with speed - had twisted backward and caught the unsuspecting Riley by the arm. It had looked like Edward planted his foot against Riley's back, and heaved -

The little campsite was filled with Riley's piercing shriek of agony.

At the same time, Seth leaped to his feet, cutting off most of my view.

But I could still see Victoria. And, though she looked oddly deformed - as if she were unable to straighten up completely - I could see the smile I'd been dreaming of flash across her wild face.

She coiled and sprang.

Something small and white whistled through the air and collided with her mid-flight. The impact sounded like an explosion, and it threw her against another tree - this one snapped in half. She landed on her feet again, crouched and ready, but Edward was already in place. Relief swelled in my heart when I saw that he stood straight and perfect.

Victoria kicked something aside with a flick of her bare foot - the missile that had crippled her attack. It rolled toward me, and I realized what it was.

My stomach lurched.

The fingers were still twitching; grasping at blades of grass, Riley's arm began to drag itself mindlessly across the ground.

Seth was circling Riley again, and now Riley was retreating. He backed away from the advancing werewolf, his face rigid with pain. He raised his one arm defensively.

Seth rushed Riley, and the vampire was clearly off-balance. I saw Seth sink his teeth into Riley's shoulder and tear, jumping back again.

With an earsplitting metallic screech, Riley lost his other arm.

Seth shook his head, flinging the arm into the woods. The broken hissing noise that came through Seth's teeth sounded like snickering.

Riley screamed out a tortured plea. "Victoria!"

Victoria did not even flinch to the sound of her name. Her eyes did not flickr once toward her partner.

Seth launched himself forward with the force of a wrecking ball. The thrust carried both Seth and Riley into the trees, where the metallic screeching was matched by Riley's screams. Screams that abruptly cut off, while the sound of rock being ripped to shreds continued.

Though she spared Riley no farewell glance, Victoria seemed to realize that she was on her own. She began to back away from Edward, frenzied disappointment blazing in her eyes. She threw me one short, agonized stare of longing, and then she started to retreat faster.

"No," Edward crooned, his voice seductive. "Stay just a little longer."

She wheeled and flew toward the refuge of the forest like an arrow from a bow.

But Edward was faster - a bullet from a gun.

He caught her unprotected back at the edge of the trees and, with one last, simple step, the dance was over.

Edward's mouth brushed once across her neck, like a caress. The squealing clamor coming for Seth's efforts covered every other noise, so there was no discernible sound to make the image one of violence. He could have been kissing her.

And then the fiery tangle of hair was no longer connected to the rest of her body. The shivering orange waves fell to the ground, and bounced once before rolling toward the trees.

I forced my eyes - frozen wide open with shock - to move, so that I could not examine too closely the oval object wrapped in tendrils of shivering, fiery hair.

Edward was in motion again. Swift and coolly businesslike, he dismembered the headless corpse.

I could not go to him - I could not make my feet respond; they were bolted to the stone beneath them. But I scrutinized his every action minutely, looking for any evidence that he had been harmed. My heart slowed to a healthier rhythm when I found nothing. He was lithe and graceful as ever. I couldn't even see a tear in his clothing.

He did not look at me - where I stood frozen to the cliff wall, horrified - while he piled the quivering, twitching limbs and then covered them with dry pine needles. He still did not meet my shocked gaze as he darted into the forest after Seth.

I didn't have time to recover before both he and Seth were back, Edward with his arms full of Riley. Seth was carrying a large chunk - the torso - in his mouth. They added their burden to the pile, and Edward pulled a silver rectangle from his pocket. He flipped open the butane lighter and held the flame to the dry tinder. It caught at once; long tongues of orange fire licked rapidly from across the pyre.

"Get every piece," Edward said in a low aside to Seth.

Together, the vampire and the werewolf scoured the campsite, occasionally tossing small lumps of white stone into the blaze. Seth handled the pieces with his teeth. My brain wasn't working well enough for me to understand why he didn't change back to a form with hands.

Edward kept his eyes on his work.

And then they were done, and the raging fire was sending a pillar of choking purple toward the sky. The thick smoke curled up slowly, looking more solid than it should; it smelled like burning incense, and the scent was uncomfortable. It was heavy, too strong.

Seth made that snickering sound again, deep in his chest.

A smile flickered across Edward's tense face.

Edward stretched out his arm, his hand curled into a fist. Seth grinned, revealing the long row of dagger teeth, and bumped his nose against Edward's hand.

"Nice teamwork," Edward murmured.

Seth coughed a laugh.

Then Edward took a deep breath, and turned slowly to face me.

I did not understand his expression. His eyes were as wary as if I were another enemy - more than wary, they were afraid. Yet he'd shown no fear at all when he'd faced Victoria and Riley... My mind was stuck, stunned and useless as my body. I stared at him, bewildered.

"Bella, love," he said in his softest tone, walking toward me with exaggerated slowness, his hands held up, palms forward. Dazed as I was, it reminded me oddly of a suspect approaching a policeman, showing that he wasn't armed...

"Bella, can you drop the rock, please? Carefully. Don't hurt yourself."

I'd forgotten all about my crude weapon, though I realized now that I was grasping it so hard that my knuckle was screaming in protest. Was it rebroken? Carlisle would put me in a cast for sure this time.

Edward hesitated a few feet from me, his hands still in the air, his eyes still fearful.

It took me a few long seconds to remember how to move my fingers. Then the rock clattered to the ground, while my hand stayed frozen in the same position.

Edward relaxed slightly when my hands were empty, but came no closer.

"You don't have to be afraid, Bella," Edward murmured. "You're safe. I won't hurt you."

The mystifying promise only confused me further. I stared at him like an imbecile, trying to understand.

"It's going to be all right, Bella. I know you're frightened now, but it's over. No one is going to hurt you. I won't touch you. I won't hurt you," he said again.

My eyes blinked furiously, and I found my voice. "Why do you keep saying that?"

I took an unsteady step toward him, and he leaned away from my advance.

"What's wrong?" I whispered. "What do you mean?" "Are you..." His golden eyes were suddenly as confused as I felt. "Aren't you afraid of me?"

"Afraid of you? _Why?_"

I staggered forward another step, and then tripped over something - my own feet probably. Edward caught me and I buried my face in his chest and started to sob.

"Bella, Bella, I'm so sorry. It's over, it's over."

"I'm fine," I gasped. "I'm okay. I'm just. Freaking out. Give me. A minute."

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**Okay, so the next chapter _might _be the last. I haven't made up my mind yet. It should be up in a few days, though. I would ask you to review, but I didn't really write much, so nevermind, haha. Love all y'all readers!**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Oh my goodness, I am so sorry it's taken me so long to update! I, hehe, got grounded. Yeah, but here's the next chapter. If you haven't read the author's note that I posted before, you should because it is crucial to where I have left off. So yeah, go ahead and enjoy this!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its characters, it's all Stephenie Meyer's beautiful work. (Oh, and by the way, there is about three or four sentences from Eclipse in this chapter, so I'm not trying to take those from her [it's in quotes].)**

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Once I could form complete sentences in my head, realizations appeared to me. I saw how Edward had protected me, just like he would have if it was yesterday, even after I'd hurt him as bad as I had today. He still loved and cared for me just as much as yesterday. I did too, I realized. It didn't matter how much I contributed to us. He loved me just as much as I did, him. I underestimated the bond we had when I was deliberating back in the forest. We were designed for each other. Maybe not physically, but in every other way possible. Although Jacob and me felt right for each other, it could not compare to the relationship between me and Edward.

His arms tightened around me. "I'm so sorry," he murmured again and again.

**"**I clung to him until I could breathe, and then I was kissing him - his chest, his shoulder, his neck - every part of him that I could reach. Slowly, my brain started to work again.

"Are you okay?" I demanded - with two meanings - between kisses. "Did she hurt you at all?"**"**

"I am absolutely fine," he promised, but his voice wavered a little. "But I should go now."

He began to pull away from me, and I knew he was still hurting from the pain I'd caused him. I need to heal him now, fast, before either of us hurt any more.

"Edward, wait," I murmured to him, trying to pull him closer. "Stay."

"No, Bella." He loosened my grasps. "I'm not going to let you hurt Jacob any longer."

I was not going to let him escape. "No, Edward, I want _you_!" I cried. "I was wrong before, and I realize it now. I don't care that you're stronger than me! I don't care that you're so much better than me! I can't live without you! We were made for each other!"

He was not convinced. "Don't lie to yourself, Bella."

"What makes you think I'm lying!" I cried out. "Don't you remember the other night, the night when I agreed to marry you? Did you think I did it just for you? I saw our future, how you wouldn't have to sneak into my room every night, how we could live in the same house, surrounded by each other constantly. I want it so bad, Edward. I want _you_!" My eyes began to well over. "Please, I know you want it too!" I began pleading.

"Bella, I can see how much you are connected to Jacob, how you can't stand to be apart from him, how much pain its causing you to be torn between me and Jacob. I'm going to give up my half of you, so you can be whole again." His voice broke and I saw the pain he was experiencing as he spoke.

I looked into the eyes of my angel, liquid gold, heartbreaking, and I knew I would never regret my next words.

"Edward, listen to me. I love you, and my whole life revolves around you. Even for the brief hour that we were apart I felt like my world had stopped moving. I need you like I need oxygen, and if you ever disappeared, I wouldn't be able to face anything anymore. I wouldn't be able to make it through one more day of school, seeing people, seeing sunlight. My soul would disappear with you."

Twenty different emotions swept across Edward's face, but before I could identify any of them, I felt his ice-cold lips on mine, his cool breath seeping through the cracks between my lips. This was my most precious feeling, and I realized that in no way did Jacob's kiss ever compare. Though Jacob could physically be more intense, the connection between Edward and I was too strong too deny the overwhelming power we had on each other.

We continued kissing each other for what seemed like hours. All too quickly, though, Edward broke off. I desired to hold him closer, to breathe in as much of him as I could.

"Edward," I pleaded softly.

"Oh no," he moaned. With one hand around my waist, he raised the other one to cup his face, contorting his expressions into those of pain. "We need to get back to the clearing now!" He swooped me up into his arms and took off through the woods.

"What's wrong?" I whispered, too out of breath to speak louder. Suddenly I became nervous for Jacob and the rest of my family. In our moment of ecstasy, I had completely forgotten the situation we were still in.

Edward looked calm on the surface, but I could tell he was terrified inside. "Alice had a vision," he replied smoothly. "It's the Volturi."

**A/N: I also want to thank everyone for reviewing! I love hearing others' thoughts. By reading them, though, I noticed that I picked up a lot of Jacob fans. Well, I'm really soooooooo sorry to disappoint y'all, but I wrote this story a few months ago, and being an Edward fan and all, I don't think I have the heart to re-write it any other way. **

**Also, I was wondering if you would like me to continue this story. I think I can end it here, just continuing with the rest of Eclipse when they go to the clearing and such, or I can put a twist on the rest of Eclipse because of the change of events. Please review and let me know what you think, because if I don't get any feedback to continue, I most likely won't.**

**Thanks again for everyone who read this fanfic! It's my first time, and I hope you enjoyed it. Please review!**


	5. Continued?

**Okay, well I didn't get very many responses, so I don't know if I will continue the story. If enough people review or vote on my poll (on profile) for me to keep it up, I will start back up as soon as possible, but for now this story is going on hiatus. I will be starting another story in the meantime, so please check it out! I love all y'all who are out there reading this, and who are reading the Twilight series. **

- icklefritz -


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